The economic crisis has given rise to significant challenges to the welfare state. Given that welfare expenses account for a large proportion of all state spending in the member countries of the European Union, reducing government spending means cutting welfare measures. Yet social protection,...

Recent debates have suggested that taxation is very detrimental to labour force participation and employment. However, some countries - notably the Scandinavian - stand out as contradictions to this view since they have managed to sustain high labour force participation despite high tax rates...

This study follows an analytical risk management process that begins by identifying the major hazards to which the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are exposed. It then outlines the risk exposures related to these hazards, evaluates opportunities for risk transfer and presents...

Durables yield services through life but are also a store of value and both features may have important implications for savings and retirement decisions. Durables also affect bequests and thus induce intergenerational transfers. We show that allowing explicitly for durables has important...

Trend increases in longevity are a global phenomenon challenging the fiscal sustainability of current welfare arrangements. Policy proposals abound and often build on implicit assertions concerning intergenerational equity. This paper offers a simple but manageable OLG model with endogenous...

The cyclical properties of producer and consumer prices are analysed on quarterly data for the period 1961:1 to 1990:4 for 15 OECD countries. It is found that the cyclical properties of prices vary substantially over time and across countries. All countries have periods with pro- and...